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The countries of the European Union last year mostly reduced the rate of visa refusals to Ukrainians, Europeiska Pravda reports.
According to the statistics released by the European Commission, refusals in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands exceed 5%. However, these countries see an overall reduction of denial rates, with a simultaneous increase in the number of multiple entry visas issued. Thus, the dynamic is positive.
Despite the fact that a number of countries, such as Austria, Italy, Spain, and Finland, grant a low share of multiple-entry visas, they have all dropped the number of visa denials. Austria's denial rate is only 0.9%, one of the lowest rates in general. Italy, previously known for its tough immigration stance, reduced the number of refusals to a mere 2%.
Read alsoEP names voting date for visa waivers for UkraineHowever, last year, the refusals by the Lithuanian Embassy accounted to only 0.2%.
"It seems that the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry decided to compensate Ukraine for an unjustified delay with the introduction of a visa-free regime, which was caused by the EU in general," the article reads.
It was reported earlier that the European Parliament would vote on granting Ukraine a visa-free regime on April 6.